The creator of Stranger Things just defended the release schedule for the upcoming final season. Anticipation may be sky-high for Stranger Things season 5, but the popular streamer decided to release the season in three parts, timed to three major holidays, which has been criticized.
The first four episodes will be released the day before Thanksgiving, the next three episodes drop on Christmas Day, and the series finale is set for New Year’s Eve.
While promoting the final season, Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer came to Netflix’s defense over the three-part release plan. He admitted to SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar) that he was unaware of the streamer’s decision to split up season 4 into two parts, which he blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic, not Netflix executives.
That schedule was created so that episodes could be released sooner rather than later.
However, the three-part release schedule for Stranger Things season 5 was planned out in advance, and Duffer knew about it well before production began, which helped him and co-creator Matt Duffer craft the storyline around the schedule.
For example, Duffer calls Volume 1 (the first four episodes) a “mega-movie” with “its own climax.” The mid-season finale, which is episode 4, proved to be the “most challenging” episode, even more so than the series finale, which in and of itself was the “hardest” on an “emotional level.”
Speaking of the ending, Duffer admitted that he doesn’t cry a lot “outside of watching Pixar movies,” but production on the series finale resulted in the co-showrunner crying numerous times throughout the process.
I’m also excited about the first volume because, in season four, we weren’t aware that it was going to get split in two. It’s not Netflix’s fault, it’s nobody’s fault. There was the pandemic, and we ended up dividing it in two so we could get episodes out sooner. But this time, we knew we were going to divide it into two, so it really is in two halves. Volume One really exists as its own mega-movie. It has its own climax.
Episode four was the most challenging episode we’ve ever made, and that includes the finale – though on an emotional level, the finale was the hardest. I don’t know how many days I found myself crying, and I’m not someone who cries very often outside of watching Pixar movies.
Most Netflix shows release an entire season at once, which has become known as the binge-watching model. That was the model that the first three seasons of Stranger Things followed.
However, the fourth season was split up into two parts, with Volume 1 being released on May 27 and Volume 2 coming out on July 1. As Duffer mentioned, the only reason they employed this schedule was so that fans could get back to watching Stranger Things as soon as possible after the pandemic created delays.
Stranger Things season 5 is following a similar multi-part release schedule. The main difference this time around is that the series finale will have its own release date on December 31, along with a simultaneous theatrical release.
Another unique change for the final season is the release time. Most Netflix shows drop at midnight EST, but every batch of episodes, including the series finale, for Stranger Things season 5 will be available to stream starting at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST.
In recent years, Netflix has been experimenting with different release models. Wednesday season 2, for example, was split into two parts, with the final four episodes being released about a month after the first four episodes dropped. Netflix faced a lot of criticism on social media for that scheduling strategy, and the backlash has been revived for Stranger Things.
TV viewers are typically used to two formulas: releasing an entire season at once and releasing one episode each week (like on network TV). It appears that a lot of streaming service subscribers aren’t happy with two- or three-part schedules.
At least the Duffer Brothers knew about their release plan ahead of time so that they could craft a final season that took into account a mid-season finale, which will hopefully make for a great viewing experience, regardless of any backlash against the streamer.
Stranger Things season 5 premieres Wednesday, November 26 at 8 p.m. EST on Netflix.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025
- Network
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Netflix
- Showrunner
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Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
